< Zephaniah 1 >

1 The word of the Lord which came unto Zephanyah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedalyah, the son of Amaryah, the son of Chizkiyah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah.
Hili ni neno la Yahwe ambalo lilikuja kwa Sefania mwana wa Kushi mwana wa Gedalia mwana wa Amaria mwana Hezekia, katika siku za Yosia mwana wa Amoni, mfalme wa Yuda. “
2 I will remove, utterly remove all things from off the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
Nitaangamiza kabisa kila kitu kutoka usoni mwa dunia - hili ni tamko la Bwana mwenyewe.
3 I will remove man and beast; I will remove the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks together with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
Nitamwangamiza mtu na mnyama; Nitawaangamiza ndege wa mbinguni na samaki wa baharini, uharibifu pamoja na waovu. Hivyo nitamfutilia mbali mtu kutoka uso wa dunia - hili ni tamko la Bwana mwenyewe.
4 And I will stretch out my hand over Judah, and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Ba'al from this place, the name of his ministers with his priests;
Nitafika kwa mkono wangu juu ya Yuda na wote wenyeji wa Yerusalemu. Nitafutilia mbali kila mabaki ya Baali kutoka sehemu hii na majina ya watu waabuduo sanamu miongoni mwa makuhani,
5 And those that bow themselves down on the roofs of houses to the host of heaven; and those that bow themselves down that are sworn [to be true] to the Lord and still swear by Malkom;
watu ambao juu ya nyumba huabudu miili ya mbinguni, na watu ambao huabudu na kuapa kwa Yahwe bali ambao pia huapa kwa mfalme wao.
6 And those that are turned away from following the Lord; and those that have not sought for the Lord, and have not inquired of him.
Nitawafutilia mbali pia wale ambao wamegeuka nyuma kutoka kumfuata Yahwe, wale ambao pia humtafuta Yahwe pasipo kuuliza ulinzi wake.
7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord Eternal; for nigh is the day of the Lord; for the Lord hath prepared a slaughter, he hath bidden his invited guests.
Uwe kimya mbele ya Bwana Yahwe! Kwa kuwa siku ya Yahwe ni karibu, Yahwe ameandaa dhabihu na amewatenga wageni wake.
8 And it shall come to pass on the day of the Lord's slaughter, that I will inflict punishment on the princes, and on the king's sons, and on all such as are clothed in garments of a foreign land.
“Itakuja katika siku ya dhabihu ya Bwana, hivyo nitawapiga wakuu na wana wa mfalme, na kila mmoja aliyevikwa mavazi ya kigeni.
9 And I will inflict punishment on all those that leap over the threshold on that day, who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.
Katika siku hiyo nitawapiga wote wale ambao huruka juu ya kizingiti, wale ambao hujaza nyumba ya bwana wao kwa vurugu na udanganyifu.
10 And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be a loud cry of lamentation from the fish-gate, and a wailing from the second, and [that of] a great breach from the hills.
Itakuwa katika siku ile - hili ni tangazo la Yahwe - kwamba kilio cha huzuni kitakuja kutoka kwenye mlango wa samaki, ikipiga yowe kutoka Wilaya ya Pili, na sauti ya kishindo kikuu kutoka vilimani.
11 Wail, ye inhabitants of the mortar-street, for destroyed are all the trading people; cut off are all that were laden with silver.
Pigeni yowe, wenyeji wa Soko la Wilaya, kwa wote wafanyabiashara watakuwa wameharibiwa, wote wale ambao hupima fedha watakuwa wamefutiliwa mbali.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem through with lights; and I will inflict punishment on the men that are at rest on their lees, that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.
Itakuwa katika siku ile nitaitafuta Yerusalemu kwa taa na kuwapiga wanaume ambao watakuwa wamekaa kwenye mvinyo wao na kusema mioyoni mwao, 'Yahwe hatafanya chochote, ama kizuri au kiovu.'.
13 And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses shall be made desolate; and they will build houses, but they shall not inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, but they shall not drink their wine.
Mali zao zitakuja kuporwa, na nyumba zao zitakuwa zimetelekezwa kwa maangamizi! Watajenga nyumba lakini hawataishi humo, na kupanda mizabibu lakini hawatakunywa mvinyo wake.
14 Nigh is the great day of the Lord, it is nigh, and hasteneth greatly, [there is] the noise of the day of the Lord: bitterly crieth there the mighty man.
Siku kubwa ya Yahwe ni karibu, karibu na inaharakisha upesi! Sauti ya siku ya Yahwe itakuwa ya kilio cha uchungu wa kishujaa!
15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anxiety, a day of wasting and desolation, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and tempestuous gloom,
Siku hiyo itakuwa siku ya ghadabu, siku ya huzuni na uchungu, siku ya dhoruba na maangamizi, siku ya giza na utusitusi, siku ya mawingu na giza nene.
16 A day of the cornet and alarm, against the fenced cities, and against the high battlements.
Itakuwa siku ya parapanda na kengele dhidi ya ngome mijini na buruji ndefu.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk about like the blind, because against the Lord have they sinned: and their blood shall be poured out like the dust, and their flesh like the dung.
Hivyo nitaleta dhiki juu ya wanadamu, kwa hiyo watatembea karibu kama wanaume vipofu tangu walipofanya dhambi dhidi ya Yahwe. Damu yao itamwagwa kama vumbi, na sehemu zao za ndani kama kinyesi.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath; through the fire of whose zeal the whole land shall be devoured; for destruction, yea, quite sudden, will he prepare for all the inhabitants of the land.
Wala fedha zao wala dhahabu zao hazitaweza kuwaokoa juu ya ghadhabu ya Yahwe. Ndani ya moto wa wivu wake dunia yote itateketezwa, hivyo ataleta ukamilifu, miwisho wa kutisha kwa wote wakaao duniani.”

< Zephaniah 1 >